Dire Straits (HIATUS)
by stydiaokaybye
Summary: Five months in Eichen House did more damage than good for Riley Harmon. Her hallucinations are worse than ever before and nothing will make her hands stop trembling. The supernatural residents of the town she calls home has never encountered anyone like her before, and in a fight for her sanity, Riley's not sure she'll win because some nightmares don't end when we open our eyes.
1. Coming Home

The Beacon Hills police station was fairly quiet at seven in the morning. She didn't know what she had expected but it certainly wasn't this - in her nightmare, the station had been overly crowded with wild criminals who had been picked up during the night and was now resisting arrest, doing everything in their power to attack her. Dreams like those had been more common since the dosage of her sleeping medication had lowered after she was discharged – she never knew just how much she'd come to appreciate dreamless sleep until the nightmares came back even though they were significantly less violent than before. Instead of wild criminals, a female officer sat behind the front desk. As Riley approached, she could tell that the officer was doing paperwork but she looked up when she noticed Riley coming closer.

"Hi," she smiled. "What can I do for you?" Riley looked at her hands and tried to will them to stop shaking but they wouldn't. The sleeping pill was wearing off and she hadn't had her morning coffee yet. The effects of the anti-anxiety meds wouldn't kick in until about another half hour but Riley desperately wished, they'd work right away – maybe then she would actually be able to hear something other than her own heartbeat.

"I'm supposed to talk to Sheriff Stilinski," she explained hoping her voice didn't shake as much as her hands did.

"Is he expecting you?" The woman questioned. Riley nodded.

"Yeah," she said. " I'm Riley Harmon. It's about an assistant job." The officer checked the calendar next to the folder with the paperwork she'd been working on.

"Okay," said the woman and rose. "Follow me." The heels of Riley's boots sounded louder than she liked as she followed the officer through a set of door's and into the primary area of the precinct. A couple of deputies who seemed too tired to be doing police work sat at their desks, seemingly trying to look alive and busy. Riley could smell the coffee from the small kitchenette on the other side of the room, and she had to fight the need to sprint over there to pour a cup for herself – you would think that five months without coffee would make her less addicted and it had but the smell was strong in the small room. Her mouth watered. The officer took Riley to a door that had _Sheriff_ written on it in impossibly big letters. She knocked and a muffled sound came from the other side of the door, the officer entered with Riley right behind her. Sheriff Stilinski sat at his desk with his chin propped down on the base of his hand, which rested on the desk. He had an exhausted and somewhat conflicted look in his eyes – Riley couldn't tell if it was stress, age, or a case that made the Sheriff look as tired as he did. The Sheriff stood and approached Riley who remained close to the door so she could flee if she needed to, but Sheriff Stilinski offered a friendly smile and dismissed his officer so they could talk in private.

"Your father speaks highly of you," said the Sheriff after proper introductions. Riley was a little shocked to hear that her father had something positive to say about her, they hardly ever spoke and family meals were always painfully awkward and silent. She made a mental note to thank him later.

"So the job," the Sheriff began. "You're interested?" Riley nodded; afraid her voice would betray her if she spoke before swallowing the lump that seemed to be stuck on her vocal chord.

"Sure," she said. "I just want something to keep me occupied so I won't get too wrapped up in my own mind again." _And something to keep her mind off Eichen House_ , but she didn't say that part out loud, she didn't want to him to think she was insane. Sheriff Stilinski nodded knowingly and when Riley started picking at the blue nail polish, he offered a friendly smile. He opened his mouth to say something but the door behind Riley burst open hitting her in the process because she hadn't moved an inch since she entered the room. A barely familiar brown-haired boy seemed shocked to find another person besides the Sheriff in his office.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't know anyone was in here. Well besides him," he said pointing at the Sheriff. Riley rubbed her shoulder where the door had hit her hardest, it didn't hurt much but enough that it would eventually turn into a bruise under her thin skin.

"It's okay," she said.

"This is Riley," he said. "She'll be my new assistant." The boy furrowed his brows and exchanged a look with the Sheriff who stared right back. It seemed like they were having silent dialogue and Riley just stood there quietly with shaking hands, and felt very much out of place.

"Riley," she jumped at her name. "This is my son, Stiles, he'll give you a ride to school." Stiles opened his mouth to protest but a stern look from his father made him close his mouth.

"He doesn't have to," Riley said. "I can get there myself."

"Don't be ridiculous," Stilinski said. "Your father said you don't drive."

"I can drive, I just don't have a car. I have my bike."

"Please tell me that bike has an engine," Stiles said, the look in his brown eyes almost pleading Riley to say that no, it wasn't a regular bike but a really loud one, the kind that made her jump out of her skin every time one passed her on the street.

"Jesus," Stiles said rubbing his eyebrow. "I'll give you a ride and drop you off here after school."

"O-okay." Riley cursed herself from the station and back to her bed where she could hide under her covers, and try to forget that she had stuttered. Would this embarrassment ever end?

Stiles owned an old blue jeep that sounded like it would break down at any given moment, the radio didn't work, and Riley was almost positive that several of the seats were held together by duct tape alone. Both teenagers were quiet for a long time on their way to the school, Stiles seemed lost in thought and Riley didn't dare speak. Her hands were firmly placed under her thighs so Stiles wouldn't notice just how much they shook, the anti-anxiety meds were starting to work but no matter how high her dosage was, it seemed like her hands never entirely stopped shaking. Only when she was alone or felt a hundred percent safe but that was a rare experience so she'd gotten used to it.

"I've never seen you at school before," said Stiles. Riley detected suspicion in his tone.

"I transferred from Devenford Prep six months ago but left shortly after. It's my first day back." Stiles' broad shoulders relaxed and he cast a quick glance in her direction.

"Where'd you go?" This time it was curiosity that's noticeable in his tone of voice. Riley contemplated whether or not to tell the familiar stranger about her trip to the loony bin, she didn't like the idea of that rumor going around school and all the stares that would inevitably come along with it. Stiles seemed like someone with a lot of secrets, someone who never fully trusted anyone so maybe he needed someone to be honest with him, and not give him a reason to be suspicious.

"Eichen House," she finally said. After she said it, she remembered that a stay at Eichen House made her look suspicious no matter what. Stiles' eyes went wide as if a memory flashed before them, and Riley noticed that his breaths became somewhat shallow. As someone who constantly battled symptoms like that, she'd learned to notice when it happened to other people but she'd also learned to know when it was okay to push and when it wasn't. This didn't seem like the time so she didn't say anything.

"Really?" He asked after about thirty seconds.

"Yeah."

"How was it?"

"Uh terrifying," she said and then smiled for the first time all morning. "But it helped." Silence filled the car again and Riley was relieved that Stiles didn't push her to talk about why she'd been admitted to Eichen House.

"Are you cold?" Riley furrowed her brows at him.

"No, why?" Stiles gestured in what must have been the general direction of her hands but it looked more liked he'd gestured towards the window. Riley suppressed a laugh.

"You're sitting on your hands."

"They're shaking," Riley explained. "They always do. Almost, anyway."

"Oh." Riley sighed and spent the rest of the car ride looking out the window. She wasn't entirely sure she was ready to go back to school despite how relieved she'd been to be released from Eichen House after five months. There were many stressors involved with school especially since she had a lot of work to catch up on even though the school had provided her with assignments while she was gone. The jeep rolled into the school parking lot and Riley couldn't get out of there fast enough, so she practically tripped over own feet getting out of the jeep and fell face first onto the pavement. Stiles jogged around the jeep to help her up but not before she'd noticed the grin on his face.

"You okay?" She nodded and rubbed her hands together to get the dirt off. "Wow, you weren't kidding about your hands. How long's it been going on?" They walked up the school steps together.

"I'm not sure," Riley replied. "The first memory I have of it is a couple of weeks after I moved here with my parents. I have no recollection of it before then."

"Huh," Stiles said, his dark brows knitted together.

"Thanks for the ride but I have to go to my locker to pick up some books for class, I'll talk to you later." Riley didn't wait around for a reply but more or less sprinted down the hallway and breathed out heavily once her head was stuffed halfway into the locker. Just as she was finally getting herself together and her breathing had steadied, she heard a familiar voice call her name. Riley poked her head out from behind the locker to find none other than Hayden Romero standing a couple of feet away with a very confused Liam Dunbar next to her. A wide smile spread on her face as Hayden ran over and threw her arms around Riley.

"I can't believe you're back," she said once she let go. When Riley first transferred she'd been seated next to Hayden in their history class and the girls had become fast friends. Hayden was the only one besides her parents who had visited her at Eichen and Riley appreciated that, it had made her feel less alone – less of a freak.

"I'm sorry I haven't come by for a while, things have been crazy."

"It's fine," Riley assured her friend. "Hi Liam." Liam, who had finally caught up to Hayden, stood awkwardly beside her. Riley and Liam knew each other from Devenford Prep, though not well, the two had still been friendly. He offered a wave.

"Where'd you go?"

"That guy Stiles asked the same thing," Riley said. "I was at Eichen House."

"You were at Eichen House?"

"You know Stiles?" Hayden and Liam asked in unison. Riley chuckled.

"I was and I wouldn't exactly say I know him as much as I know who he is," Riley explained. "His Dad pretty much forced him to give me a ride as if my bike would kill me on the way here." It was the first joke she'd made since getting out of Eichen and the smiles on Hayden and Liam's faces made it all worth it. It easiness and the joke was a good sign that the meds had kicked in and her hands had more or less stopped shaking – it was only a slight tremor now. Before either of them could question her further, the bell rung and they all had to race off to their shared English class.

* * *

"We have to tell her," said Neal Harmon. He looked at his wife whom their daughter took after more so than him. Dark brown hair, striking brown eyes with a stare as intense as the blazing sun, and a smile that made his knees go weak. The difference between his wife and daughter's eyes was the fear. Where Riley's stare was intense, it was also fearful and paranoid.

"We can't," she insisted. "It will drive her insane."

"It already has!" Neal let out an exasperated groan. "Diane, she's our only child. We have to protect her, and the only way we can do that is to tell her." Riley had left not two minutes earlier and the couple was already fighting about the secret they kept from the most precious thing they had. When they had learned about the presence of werewolves at her private school, they had discussed a transfer to the public high school to which Riley had agreed. Anything to reduce the pressure but she'd had a breakdown soon after.

"It's a curse, Neal," Diane said. "My mother and I were lucky."

"But Riley wasn't," he said more calmly. "She's already been to Eichen House and who knows what horrors she saw there. You know about the power outage a couple of weeks ago which can't be good." Neal and Diane were painfully aware about the underground supernatural ward at the notorious Eichen House but they didn't have a choice when it came to Riley. It was the only place in Beacon Hills that offered constant observation and care for people who were mentally unstable and after Riley's nervous breakdown, they could not put it off any longer. They had been forced to admit her.

"Let's just give her a couple of days to adjust to a normal routine," Diane suggested. "Let her catch up on school, let her make friends, let her start her job – just let her settle in before we tell her. These past five months might have actually helped." Neal did not like it even the slightest bit because he knew that keeping this big part of Riley's identity from her would cause her nothing but pain and make her inherently vulnerable, not to mention that when she inevitably found out, she would be angry with both of them. It was with a heavy sigh that he agreed to his wife's wish to keep their daughter in the dark.

* * *

A/N: I originally posted this OC story to AO3 but figured I would post here, too. You can read more about the OC's of this story over on my tumblr (stydiaokaybye). Feel free to leave a review to let me know what you think, I'd very much appreciate it. Feel free to talk to me anytime. Thanks!


	2. Before the Storm

Riley's last class of the day was chemistry and to say she was relieved would be an understatement. Science was something she understood, something that could be explained and comprehended – not some invisible thing that made her hands tremble. Riley entered the classroom, and looked at the seating chart on the wall, just to make sure that her seat was the same as pre-breakdown. Though the seat was the same, she had a different partner, Spencer Lawson. She turned around and saw a dark haired boy sitting at her station, he offered a shy wave but was quick to look down at the book in his other hand. Riley took a deep breath, willed her hands to still, and started the walk towards her seat. It felt like forever before she sat down on the stool next to Spencer. Riley felt his eyes on her even though he didn't turn his head.

"Hi," she said. "Looks like you're stuck with me as your new lab partner." Spencer closed his book and looked at her carefully. He opened his mouth as if to speak but hesitated a moment, he closed his eyes, breathed in heavily, and opened them again.

"I just transferred into this class," he said, just a little too slowly. Riley nodded, she didn't know what else to say so she took her chemistry book out of her backpack and opened it up. The quietness was awkward between them but Riley didn't know what to say and Spencer seemed to feel the same way. They had to endure it. When the teacher entered, the tension eased a little as they listened but before Riley had even begun to feel comfortable, they were told to do a lab. Riley mumbled that she'd get the ingredients they needed, if he could get lab coats and some of the materials. About halfway during the experiment, as Spencer was pouring some sort of acid which name Riley could not pronounce, he finally spoke.

"You disappeared," he said. The words surprised Riley more than they probably should have. The smile that unwillingly crept onto her face was small, barely even there.

"You noticed?" The only friend she had managed to make before her breakdown was Hayden and the idea that someone else had noticed Riley's absence seemed cruel and unrealistic – yet somehow Spencer had. He looked up, striking blue eyes meeting hers. He nodded.

"I always notice," he said matter-of-factly, and looked back at the acid that was now changing color. Riley glanced at the boy next to her who seemed so utterly normal but spoke so slowly and so clearly as if afraid to stumble over his own words, and she wondered what kind of secrets he kept inside his head. Riley was so lost in thought that she didn't notice that for once, her hands were completely still. Their teacher, Mrs. Sullivan, walked among the stations and when she came to the back to take a look at Spencer and Riley's progress, she offered a smile.

"It's good to have you back, Miss Harmon," she said. "I hope you don't mind I paired you with Mr. Lawson – I think you'll be a very effective team. That looks good," she said to Spencer. Spencer offered a nod of acknowledgment but didn't look up from the experiment. Mrs. Sullivan moved on to the next station to chat with a pair who seemed engaged in a very serious conversation instead of doing the experiment. Mrs. Sullivan made sure to reprimand them for it – the boy argued that it was a matter of life and death. Riley didn't hear anymore because Spencer tapped her on the shoulder – she whipped her head back around to find Spencer using his pen to point at the acid that had now changed color again. She took the hint and jotted down the result in her meticulous notes but despite the neatness of her notes, she didn't understand much. She was further behind in chemistry than she realized – she sighed and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear so it wouldn't get in the way. As the lesson drew towards its end, Riley and Spencer cleaned up their station in the same uncomfortable silence as they'd started off in. When the bell sounded, Spencer was out of the classroom in a hurry, so Riley packed up her things quickly and followed – something had been nagging her that she desperately needed to ask him.

"Spencer!" She yelled across the crowded hallway, hoping he could hear her. He was standing by his locker and turned his head towards the sound of his name – he seemed to freeze when he realized it was Riley who'd said it. She made her way towards him.

"I wanted to ask you something," she said. He looked at her, his blue eyes just as intense as before. "Why did you notice I was gone?" Riley picked at her nails, as she waited for Spencer's answer. He seemed to be considering his response carefully as he opened his locker, put his chemistry book in, and took a math book out.

"We were in the same grade before you were sent to private school," he said, finally looking at her. "We were art partners but I never talked because I was embarrassed by my stutter." A memory flashed in Riley's mind of herself in third grade, in an art room, trying to make conversation with the boy who she was sketching and who was supposed to critique her work. He didn't talk but she remembered his striking blue eyes, and how his quietness had haunted her sleep for weeks.

"I've changed since third grade," Riley said.

"Not really," Spencer said and shrugged his shoulders. "Just older but with even teeth." Riley laughed. It was no lie that her teeth had been horrendous before she got braces to straighten them out, she was no longer embarrassed to smile. The corners of Spencer's mouth were turned slightly up – the smile was easy and confident, not shy.

"I'll see you tomorrow in Chem then," Riley said and waved as she walked off to her own locker. Before she could finish the combination on the lock, she felt compelled to look up - it seemed as if the dynamic among the student body had changed. The students talked to each other but no one really listened, it was as if they all sensed that something was not quite as it should be. Riley couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she pushed the thought away. She finished the combination and as she put her chemistry book in the locker, she saw Stiles walking down the corridor with a redheaded girl at his side – it looked as if they were having some kind of argument but they were too far away from Riley to hear their words until they stopped just across from her.

"Something's off," Stiles said. "I know it." She redhead looked at him, somewhat annoyed.

"Not everyone is bad, Stiles," she said. "Sometimes people are just broken."

"I'm not saying she's bad," Stiles insisted. "I'm saying something's off."

"Which is basically you saying she's bad," the redhead deadpanned. "You know Scott said he detected another one?"

"Another chimera?" The redhead shook her head.

"Another wolf." It was then Riley realized that the conversation wasn't meant for ears so she closed her locker, and walked towards the parking lot to wait by Stiles' jeep. She wouldn't mention what she'd overheard because she wasn't sure if it had been real or not – her symptoms weren't bad so she most likely hadn't imagined what Stiles and the redhead had talked about but it was absurd, so she must have. Riley tried to rationalize the words chimera and wolf and Stiles' suspicion about this female person who something was off about. Was it Riley? Was something off about her? Riley thought back on everything they'd talked about earlier that morning but couldn't find anything besides mentioning Eichen House that would make her seem off but even then, people suffered mental illness and were admitted. It wasn't that unusual. As she leaned against the jeep's side, Riley realized that she might have blown her chance at making a friend before the friendship had even begun simply by mentioning Eichen House. Riley slapped her head against her palm, and when she looked up, Stiles was approaching the jeep, smiling at her. She straightened her back and nodded as an acknowledgement – his smile became wider, and Riley did everything in her power not to pick at her nails. The blue polish she'd put on the day before was nearly gone already – a clear sign that her first day back had been just a tad too stressful.

"How was your first day back?" Too cheerful. Riley murmured an unintelligible noise and climbed into the battered blue jeep that she had deduced was Stiles' most loved belonging. She was sure he would go to the grave along with it; she strongly suspected duct tape on the engine as well, since the same thing held most of the seats together. Stiles backed out of the parking space and headed in the direction of the station.

"Who were you talking to after your last class?" Riley furrowed her brows and looked at Stiles, the question had come off as casual but she detected something underneath.

"My new lab partner," she said. For some reason, she didn't tell Stiles that Spencer had noticed her absence, it was something Riley wanted to stay between her and Spencer and besides, she didn't want to give Stiles a reason to be suspicious of him.

"Is he good?"

"He seems smart," she said. "A little blunt but nice." Stiles nodded and silence fell over the jeep once more. Riley picked at her nail polish, and soon dark blue chips were all over her lap, the seat, and the floor of the jeep. She brushed it away as casually as she could. She bit her lip before she burst out the question she'd been dying to ask – she didn't have the time to think better of it.

"Something off about what?" Honestly, Riley felt terrible asking about a private conversation he'd had with the redhead but curiosity had crept its way into her and it wouldn't let go.

"You heard that?"

"I don't think subtlety is a quality of yours," Riley said and shrugged her shoulders. "But that was all I heard." _Lie_. She wanted to see how much Stiles would reveal, if anything, before letting him know exactly how much she actually heard.

"Then you heard enough," he said and let his eyes slip from the road to her for a second. For some reason, anger filled up Riley inside, and the rage felt like it had been coming for days.

"Enough? I have no idea what you were talking about which is why I'm asking. If it's personal or you just don't want some random stranger to know, I get it, just tell me. Don't be a dick about it. I'd rather have the hard truth than some lie you think is going to make me feel better." Riley could tell that she had caught Stiles off guard; he hadn't expected her to have an outburst or be angry. He considered whether or not to argue with her but decided against. To Riley's surprise, he smiled.

"I thought you knew since you're going to be my dad's new assistant." Riley furrowed her brows.

"I'm going to get coffee, man the front desk, and log case files."

"He didn't tell you," said Stiles. It wasn't a question. "It's not just that, Riley. He wanted an assistant to help him with the supernatural cases and there's a lot of them."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"Well no, but you look like someone who has a pretty solid sarcastic face." Riley crossed her arms and stared out the window. She felt like a child who was unreasonably angry with her parents for something that either wasn't their fault or they couldn't do anything about. Stiles had to be careful with his next words or Riley wasn't sure she'd be able to restrain herself from taking his head clean off. Okay, that might be an exaggeration but something along those lines, at least.

"I thought you knew," he said. Something like regret or remorse lingered in his voice. "It's a lot to take in but I'll explain it, okay?"

"This is some kind of sick joke," Riley said and squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears from spilling over. She did not have the faintest idea why she was in tears but it felt overwhelming, as if someone had ripped off an especially painful band-aid. "Let's play a sick prank on the crazy girl, am I right?" Stiles' eyes went wide as he looked from the road to her and back on the road – he turned into the station parking lot, and turned off the jeep's engine. He turned in his seat and looked at Riley who had stopped trying to hide the fact that she was crying.

"This is not a joke or a prank," he said as calmly as he possibly could. "My best friend was bitten by werewolf two years ago and things have only gone downhill from there."


	3. Through the Looking Glass

"All of them!" Andy exclaimed looking at the girl he'd known all his life. She twisted a strand of her dark hair between her slim fingers, a sign she was worrying, and Andy could only guess about what. It was hard to keep track since Abby was turned into a werewolf against her will, and with a full moon looming, it wasn't all that surprising that she was worrying.

"No," she deadpanned. "This is not some 80's rom-com with a supernatural element, being a werewolf is not cool. It's awful."

"Always the cynic."

"I prefer realist but whatever helps you sleep at night." The bell rang. Abby gathered her books in her arms and left the biology lap with Andy by her side. They went to Andy's locker first where he put in his books, and got the ones he needed for homework. He swung his backpack over his shoulder, and they headed for Abby's locker.

"How can you be a realist when you're a werewolf? Isn't that like two completely opposite sides of the spectrum?" She rolled her eyes as she did the combination on the lock.

"Werewolves are real," she countered picking books out of her locker and stuffing them into her backpack. "Anyway, I have practice. Are you going home?" Andy shook his head.

"I always watch your practices." Abby nodded, and they headed off towards the locker rooms at the opposite end of the school. They separated when Abby went into the girl's changing room, and Andy went out to the field to wait on the bleachers. In the changing room, Abby met up with the rest of the girl's soccer team of which she was the captain, the youngest in the school's history. Abby asked what they were talking about, and Hayden Romero looked up from tying her shoe.

"Riley Harmon is back in school."

"Who?"

"Riley?" Hayden asked. "About this tall, brown hair, shy?"

"Nope," Abby shook her head. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"I'm pretty sure she's in your chemistry class," Hayden explained. Something clicked in Abby's mind. She saw the new girl in her class walk into the room while she'd been lost in a conversation with Andy about the upcoming full moon. Something about her had captured Abby's attention but the girl, Riley, had seemed perfectly ordinary so Abby didn't think twice about it until Hayden mentioned her.

"I thought she was new," Abby said and pulled her t-shirt over her head. She slipped on another one. Hayden explained that she'd transferred from Devenford about six months ago but had left almost immediately after because she got sick. Now she was back.

Abby rounded up the girls for a quick pep talk before they headed out to the field to meet coach who explained his strategy for their upcoming match against Devenford Prep's soccer team. He yelled at them as much as he yelled at the lacrosse team, and Abby couldn't help but smile. Despite everything that had changed in her life over the last two months, she could always count on Coach Finstock to scream at them with the lamest movie references of all time.

Andy sat on the bleachers and watched the girls, including his best friend, warm up. Abby's dark ponytail bounced as she balanced the leather ball on her head, and then made it roll down to her feet where she kicked it between them. Andy didn't have a shred of sportiness in him so he mostly lost himself into the world of science and books where stuff wasn't quite as much physical effort. That way Abby had one less thing to worry about; she trusted his ability to find the needed information, and to tell her when it was time to hunt down another dead end lead.

Andy had barely opened his Chemistry book, and flipped to the page of the reading for tomorrow when Scott McCall sat down next to him on the bench – to say Andy was surprised that the lacrosse captain was even in his presence would be the understatement of the year. Andy glanced at Scott out of the corner of his eye but he looked more chipper than ever, which was alarming considering the near-constant gloominess that hung around him and his friends.

"Andy, right?" If a nod could be insecure there was no doubt that's what Andy's looked like.

"You're alone," Andy commented, his eyes scanning the area to see if any of his friends were nearby. "You're never alone." Scott's eyebrows shot up, his expression confused. Andy shrugged his shoulders, and made an unintelligible noise.

"I wanted to talk to you," Scott started. "About Abby."

"And here I thought it was me you came looking for," Andy joked. "I thought you were dating Kira."

"I-I am," Scott defended. "It's not that. Have you noticed any changes in Abby's behavior recently? Is she more angry than before, is she easier to tick off, does she seems secretive like she's keeping something from you?" Sweat piped up on Andy's neck, his heart picked up speed, and Scott looked at him so intensely that Andy felt like throwing up but there was no way he could know about Abby. How would he? And besides, Andy was still trying to wrap his head around the whole thing, and no one else would believe it so how could Scott McCall possibly know?

"Uh, no," Andy lied as his palms broke out in sweat, too. "Same old, same old. Why are you asking?" Technically Abby wasn't keeping secrets. She'd told Andy everything when she was bitten, and when she turned the first time but she was definitely more irritable since "the incident" as she liked to call it. Andy looked at his best friend on the field. Coach Finstock had split them into teams and set up a pretend match so they could practice for the upcoming match against Devenford. Abby had the ball and was maneuvering around the opponents. She'd been a fantastic soccer player before but when she turned, her speed and agility increased, and it made her even better than before which had not gone unnoticed by the rest of the team but Abby passed it off as extra hard training over the summer. When Andy turned his head back to Scott, the older boy had narrowed his eyes at him.

"Are you sure?" Scott persisted. "Nothing out of the ordinary?" Andy shook his head.

"No," Andy maintained. "Everything is peachy." Andy cursed himself into the next century for even thinking about using the word peachy but there was no way for him to turn back now so he just smiled, and pretended to read from his Chem book. Scott apologized for bothering him, and stood up to leave but turned back to Andy.

"If she needs it," he began. "I can help her control it." Had Scott McCall just implied that he was also a werewolf, and could help Abby control the shift so Andy wouldn't have to put himself in situations that could possibly end with him in a very real body bag? Andy ignored the thought. No, there was no way Scott was a werewolf. Abby would have been able to catch his scent, right?

Andy barely read any of his Chem homework during Abby's soccer practice, he kept thinking about Scott's words, and how he was supposed to tell Abby that was possible that there was another werewolf at school that they didn't know about. To be honest, Andy was just glad that he hadn't blabbed to Scott about everything, which would definitely not have put him in a good place with his best friend who did everything in her power to keep her newfound wolf side a secret.

"Hey," Abby said as she approached him when practice was over with her sports' bag hanging over her shoulder, and a ball under her arm. "What's the Chem homework on?" Andy stood, and picked his backpack up from the ground.

"No idea," he said. "I couldn't concentrate." Abby let out a roaring laugh, and wiped a drop of sweat off her forehead with the back of her free hand.

"Well, you did just watch the girl's soccer team practice for 90 minutes." She was joking but Andy didn't want to admit that there was some truth to her words. If it hadn't been for his conversation with Scott, he wouldn't have focused much on the chemistry homework anyway but it wouldn't be because of the team, it would have been because of Abby alone. They had known each other all their lives because their mom's had been pregnant at the same time, and gave birth within two months of each other. Abby and Andy had been friends since they were in diapers, and grew up doing everything together whether that be sitting in a puddle of mud for hours at age four or looking for something that could tell them who had bitten Abby and turned her into a werewolf. Sometime over the seventeen years they'd known each other, Andy had fallen in love with his best friend without even realizing it. It was his sister, Sophie, who was three years younger than him, who'd made him aware of it during a barbecue in their backyard with Abby and her mom.

"Are you ever going to tell her?" She'd asked when they were getting drinks from the fridge inside. Andy had furrowed his brows, and asked what on earth she was talking about. Sophie responded by launching into a lecture on how obvious it was that he was in love with Abby, that everyone could see it, and if he would only pull his head out of his ass no matter how solidly it was planted there, he would tell her. Andy had gotten defensive, and gone into complete denial but as the evening went on, he couldn't get Sophie's words out of his head, and he had to admit to himself that she was right. It was frustrating that she was always right.

"Earth to Andy," Abby said snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Sorry what?" He didn't know how long Abby had been talking or what she'd been talking about.

"Mind telling me what Scott McCall wanted?" They were already in front of the locker room.

"Uh yeah," Andy hesitated. "I think he knows that you're, you know, a werewolf." Abby's eyes widened in fear. She grabbed his sleeve, and dragged him into a broom closet on the opposite side of the hallway. The room was dark and too small, they could only just fit in there, and there was barely any space between their bodies. It only made Andy hyperconscious of his own body, and the sound of his heartbeat, which Abby's could undoubtedly hear. She flicked on the light.

"What did he say?" She growled. "What makes you think he knows?" Andy explained his conversation with Scott as best as he could. He watched his best friend's reactions to everything he said – it went from shock to fear, from anger to frustration, from relief and back to fear.

"Did you blab?" She asked. Even though it was a valid question as Andy had a tendency to do just that whenever someone questioned him, he was insulted.

"Of course not," he snapped. "I made you a promise but if Scott really does know, it might be worth a shot. I wouldn't mind not dying sometime in the near future." Abby let out an exasperated sigh, rubbed her eyes, and stepped out of the closet. She hesitated at the locker room door with her hand on the knob. She twisted her body slightly so she could look at him.

"I would never kill you," she said.

"I know," Andy replied, and accepted the embrace that Abby offered. He couldn't help but think how perfectly she fit into his arms, as cliché as that was.

* * *

"No," Riley said, and got out of the jeep. "Maybe they should lock _you_ up in Eichen House."

"They did," Stiles said, following Riley to her bike which leaned against the outside wall of the sheriff's station. "Technically, I checked myself in. Didn't go well."

"It's Eichen House," Riley hissed. "What did you expect?"

"I did it to protect my friends," Stiles muttered, the sadness laced in his voice made Riley's heart tighten. "I know this is a lot to take in but trust me, it's always better when the people who get involved with us know." The keys in Riley's hand rattled violently at the pace of its trembling, and the tears that had subsided from the initial shock came flooding back and spilled down her cheeks at the speed of a rushing waterfall. All Riley wanted was to go home to her bed, and never get back up. The psychiatrists promised her that things would be better when she got out – they promised that the hallucinations would slowly lessen, the trembling would eventually disappear, and her life would be as normal as possible. Riley didn't realize how hysterical her crying had become before Stiles carefully put his arms around her, and pulled her towards his chest. She wanted to resist but she was so drained of energy that she let herself fall apart in his arms in the parking lot of the sheriff's station. Riley didn't know how long they stayed like that but eventually her tears turned to quiet sobs as she tried to get enough air in her lungs. Stiles offered to take her home but she insisted on taking her bike so she could clear her head, and try to understand everything he'd just told her about the supernatural. About werewolves, banshees, and whatnot. Stiles nodded, and told her to get some sleep. She mounted her bike, and peddled out of there as fast she could, the wind blowing her hair backwards, and the cool September wind stinging her face. It was a relief to be on her own, and to know that she was going home to her parents who she didn't need to impress, or pretend to be just somewhat normal around. Her mom greeted her when she stepped through the front door.

"How was your first day back?" It was an overwhelming question, and even though Riley felt like bursting back into tears, she held them back and trained her features into a neutral expression.

"Emotionally draining, academically hard, but socially good." She couldn't read her mother's expression.

"Are you hungry?" Riley shook her head.

"I think I'm just going to go to bed," she said, and headed upstairs. As Riley changed out of her clothes, she realized just how exhausted she was, and it didn't surprise her when she fell asleep as soon her eyes closed.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you guys like my OC's Abby and Andy (I know their names are similar, it will be explained in a different chapter), I love writing them and their dynamic is hilarious. Please feel free to leave a review, I would very much appreciate it or come to my tumblr (stydiaokaybye) to talk to me about this story or any other one I've written. Thanks!**


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